Creamy Roasted Garlic Salad Dressing

Garlic is perhaps one of the most popular seasonings used to flavor savory dishes, and just the sheer aroma alone is enough to make your mouth water. A relative to the onion, garlic is low in calories and free of fat, cholesterol and sugar (source). Want to know more? Check out my All About Garlic post.

When garlic is roasted, its pungency is reduced while its flavor is brought to the forefront. This makes it an excellent inclusion for sandwiches and wraps. In addition, you can kick up your salads by incorporating garlic into your dressings. Check out this recipe for Creamy Roasted Garlic Salad Dressing. Almonds lend themselves to this recipe by providing a nice, creamy consistency, all while providing a healthy dose of potassium, dietary fiber, protein, calcium, iron and magnesium (source).

Creamy Roasted Garlic Salad Dressing
Yields approximately 1-1/2 cups

1/2 cup whole blanched unsalted almonds
1 cup + 3/4 cup filtered water, divided
1 bulb fresh garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Place almonds in a bowl and cover with 1 cup filtered water. Set aside and allow to soak for 8 hours, or overnight.

After almonds have soaked, preheat oven to 400° F. Cut off top quarter of garlic bulb and place on a piece of aluminum foil approximately 12″ by 12″ in size. Drizzle garlic with olive oil and wrap in foil. Bake garlic, cut side up, in preheated oven for 40-60 minutes, depending on flavor preference. Remove and allow to cool. Garlic should be very fragrant and golden brown in color. Once cooled, squeeze garlic cloves out of their skins and place in the bowl of a blender.

Drain and discard water from almonds. Add soaked almonds, 3/4 cup fresh filtered water and remaining ingredients to blender and puree until smooth, approximately 30-90 seconds, depending on your type of blender.

All About Turmeric

Native to South Asia, turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a member of the ginger family and has a bitter taste. It is said to have been used in India for over 2500 years, particularly in religious ceremonies and weddings, and is a primary ingredient in Indian, African, Persian and Thai cuisines. Turmeric is often used to give many prepared foods their yellow color, some of which include: broths, curry powder, salad dressing and yellow mustard. In vegan cooking, however, turmeric is most widely used in conjunction with tofu to create imitation egg dishes such as tofu scramble. Furthermore, the spice can be used in place of saffron as a cheaper substitute (source).

Having multiple uses, turmeric is useful as a fabric dye and in skin care, as well as for medicinal purposes, particularly in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. This spice is said to help reduce the effects of or prevent many ailments such as Alzheimer’s, arthritis, asthma, cancer, colds/flu, cuts/bruises and diabetes, and it is also said to assist with weight loss (source). Turmeric is a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Iron, Manganese, Potassium and Vitamin B6, and is a good source of Magnesium and Vitamin C (source).